Top 3 Unique Yet Inexpensive Hotel Choices

Across the United States and throughout much of the world, many hotels and their guestrooms look as though they were stamped out of the same mold.

This should hardly come as a surprise since the vast majority of hotels belong to international chains that must achieve economies of scale in order to meet earnings goals and keep their shareholders happy. And for some consumers who like to know what to expect, the familiar layouts common to many hotel brands are a plus rather than a minus.

After a hectic day of business meetings or long-distance travel, it’s entirely possible to wake up semi-dazed in a hotel room and be unable to quickly pinpoint your location, so closely do many hotel rooms resemble one another.

Still Some Unique Hotels

Happily, there are a limited number of hotels that dare to be different. In fact, for many such hostelries, their distinctive characteristics play a major role in their popularity with guests. Limited though their number may be, there are far too many to list in any single article. Here are three truly unique hotels that do, however, share one common characteristic: They all have rooms available for less than $200 a night, which in and of itself sets them apart in these days of skyrocketing hotel rates.

For followers of Travel Feeder, HotelsCheap.org is offering a special, limited-time offer that will allow you to take an additional 10 percent off the already rock-bottom hotel prices available through the discount travel website. We’ll give you more of these details later.

Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, CA

Each guestroom at the Madonna Inn has its own distinctive decor and furnishings.

If you have a genuine appreciation for kitsch, you don’t want to miss a stay at the quirky Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California. Its distinctive decor is described by Fodors.com as follows: “From its rococo bathrooms to its pink-on-pink froufrou steak house, the Madonna Inn is fabulous or tacky, depending on your taste.” If you’ve got a sense of humor, we’re betting you’ll find this property fabulous.

Each room and suite at the inn has its own theme, one more outrageous than the next. If you’ve always dreamed of a trek across the African veldt, a stay in the hotel’s Safari Room would be a good choice for you. With its stone walls, the Rock Bottom Room looks as though it were carved into the side of a mountain. In yet another room, the bed is trapezoidal, measuring five feet long on one side and six feet long on the other.

The inn’s rooms and suites all come with satellite flat-screen TVs, complimentary Wi-Fi, pillow-top mattresses, and coffee/tea makers. En-suite bathrooms feature shower/tub combinations, designer toiletries, and luxury terry bathrobes. Room rates start as low as $189.

More like a resort than a mere hotel, the inn has a multitude of amenities, including a full-service spa, a hilltop terrace with an infinity swimming pool, fitness center, two hot tubs, concierge service, and a network of hiking trails that crisscross the adjoining countryside. Dining choices include the Copper Cafe and Gold Rush Steak House. The Madonna Inn bakery offers a tempting selection of cakes, cookies, pies, and other pastries.

Wanderlust Hotel, Singapore

Once a schoolhouse, Singapore’s Wanderlust Hotel has guestrooms and suites that are sleekly contemporary.

In the heart of Singapore’s Little India district, Wanderlust Hotel once served as a schoolhouse in the 1920s. According to BudgetTravel, the hotel “can still teach you a thing or two — this time, about the cutting edge of interior design. Each of the four floors has been handed over to a different local design firm, yielding a slew of wildly themed spaces.” Room rates start as low as $129.

Each room has its own unique theme, including “Orange Crush,” a room decorated in various shades of orange, another designed to look like a tree house, and still another inspired by science fiction, complete with a cubist rocket sculpture and stuffed aliens. Each unit features an iPod docking station, complimentary Wi-Fi, a minibar, flat-screen cable TV, and luxury bedding. Partially open bathrooms have designer toiletries and rainfall showerheads.

Guests at the Wanderlust can dine at the Cocotte Restaurant, which is located on the ground floor and serves rustic French cuisine for lunch and dinner daily. Other amenities include complimentary buffet breakfast, bar/lounge, 24-hour front desk service, and dry cleaning/laundry service.

12 Decades Art Hotel, Johannesburg

Rooms at 12 Decades Art Hotel in Johannesburg document the rich and colorful history of South Africa’s largest city.

A relatively recent addition to the Johannesburg hotel scene, 12 Decades Art Hotel has 14 individually decorated guestrooms, each of which celebrates a separate decade in the history of the city, which was founded in 1886. The decor and furnishings for each unit are the work of a separate design team, selected from among the best creative artists in South Africa.

Spacious rooms — roughly 370 square feet in area — feature flat-screen cable/satellite TV and en-suite bathrooms with showers. Room rates start as low as $84 a night. Internet connectivity is available for a small added charge. Other hotel amenities include free parking, a fitness center, meeting facilities, and shuttle service to and from the airport (surcharge).

Within walking distance is Arts on Main, an inner city development that offers working and living space for artists from many disciplines, including film, literature, and visual arts. Other nearby attractions include Carlton Centre, Ellis Park Stadium, and Standard Bank Gallery.

As an added incentive to TravelFeeder’s followers, HotelsCheap.org is offering an additional 10 percent discount on hotel reservations booked on or before June 30, 2014. To redeem your 10 percent discount, visit HotelsCheap’s Loyalty Coupons gateway and enter TRAVELFEEDER10 in the active discount code field. This discount can be used for bookings at the hotels spotlighted here or at any other hotel you choose.

Don Amerman is a travel expert based in Florida and Pennsylvania. He has traveled widely across the United States and overseas as well.

About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.